Outer Hebrides Fisheries Conference 7/8 March 2018

Last week in Uist, a high profile Fisheries Conference was organised by the Comhairle and held in Benbecula on the theme, "Future Opportunities for Island Fisheries Communities."

The conference brought together representatives from all the Fisheries sectors in the Hebrides as well as key stakeholders in the industry. There were also valuable contributions from representatives from the Clyde Fishermen's Association and the Orkney Fisheries Association who face similar challenges in the near future. Keynote speeches were delivered by Duncan MacInnes from WIFO, Hector Stewart from Kallin Shellfish and Donald Nicholson, Chair of the Outer Hebrides Inshore Fisheries Group.

On Friday afternoon, Alasdair Allan, MSP for the Western Isles spoke about the Scottish Government view on the fishing industry in a post-Brexit era. Lord Duncan, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland, addressed the conference on, " Brexit-the UK Government Perspective."

Cllr Alasdair Macleod, Chairman of the Comhairle's Fisheries JCC said, "This was an excellent conference which gave the fishing industry, national politicians and key stakeholders an opportunity to address the challenges and opportunities for our fishing industry, presented by Brexit. It allowed those present to explore potential opportunities for taking control of and managing our natural assets sustainably to maximise future economic benefits for Island fishing communities."